Digital radiography is a relatively young art. While its advent has created many benefits to radiographic diagnostics, many aspects of the technology stand in need of improvement or refinement.
A cursory review of prior art devices in the field reveals a host of shortcomings. First, prior art devices use a fixed X-ray dose often dependent upon the particular characteristics of the subject being X-rayed. Although digital devices have reduced the cycle time between an unsuccessful radiographic image and a subsequently successful one, most of these digital devices have provided no improvement in the occasional trial and error methodology of achieving satisfactory radiographic images, particularly relating to X-ray dose. Some prior art inventions have attempted to address this long-standing and fundamental shortcoming in the radiographic arts by introducing test receptors or pattern-matching algorithms for improving images that are faulty on the basis of an incorrect X-ray dose. While these inventions do represent improvements in the art, they fail to address the underlying problem of administering an accurate dose of radiation for imaging on the first attempt.
A further shortcoming of solid state digital radiographic devices is that each utilizes a receptor array to generate data based upon stored analog voltage values. These generated voltages are subject to noise, signal attenuation, and excess charge saturation due to overexposure, all of which detract from information gathered from the X-rayed subject. Further, such devices lack software-based means for refining or calibrating the device to suit specific imaging needs, such as mammography.
It is desirable to have a digital radiographic imaging method capable of generating accurate X-ray images without resort to trial and error. It is also desirable to have a digital radiographic imaging method that is capable of being programmed to suit specific radiographic applications.